From Fr. Mark-June 20

Father’s Day, that we celebrate today is an annual Sunday holiday that occurs each year on the third Sunday in June. It was created to celebrate the men who lead our families and Father’s Day reflects how we honor our heavenly Father by honoring our earthly fathers. The fifth commandment tells us to honor our father and mother (Exodus 20:12); therefore, it is right and fitting to honor our earthly fathers as commanded by our Father in heaven.

Even though fathers don’t traditionally garner the same sentimental excitement as mothers, a holiday celebrating them began relatively soon after the introduction of Mother's Day.

Father’s Day originated in West Virginia in 1908 as a one-time commemoration of 362 men who perished in a 1907 coal mine explosion. The following year, in Spokane, Washington, Sonora Smart Dodd, one of six children raised by a widower, sought to establish an official day for fathers after her pastor’s Mother’s Day sermon. She canvassed all the local charities and government offices to gather support for her idea. As a result, Washington celebrated the first statewide Father’s Day on June 19, 1910. The Spokane Ministerial Alliance eagerly embraced her idea, and that first Father’s Day was supported and celebrated by Spokane churches.

The holiday gained slow but eager momentum, and, in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson gave credence to the holiday with a remote unfurling of a flag in Spokane. Afterward, in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge advocated for the holiday and recommended state governments observe Father’s Day, but it wasn’t until 1972 that Father’s Day became an official U.S. holiday. Today we celebrate Father’s Day every third Sunday of June.

Though Father’s Day originated as a sentimental yet secular holiday, the Christian ideals behind it are prominent. Like many others of our holidays, Father’s Day, too, is linked to Christianity in that it was founded to celebrate the ideals of fatherhood set forth in Scripture…William Jackson Smart's self-sacrificing love for his children led to a national day of recognition for all fathers. We have a grateful daughter to thank for that.

Of course, appreciation for our fathers is commanded in Scripture, but modern celebrations of our earthly fathers, however, have roots in the our Roman Catholic church. Since the Middle Ages, they have celebrated fatherhood on St. Joseph’s Day each March 19.

While originally targeting fathers, Father’s Day has grown to include all paternal figures, including grandfathers, stepfathers, fathers-in-law, husbands, etc. This inclusion highlights our varied family dynamics and honors fathers who actively nurture their children.

Because we know God as our Father (Matthew 6:9), we can celebrate our earthly fathers as a remembrance of how we all have a heavenly Father who loves us and desires the best for us (Romans 8:28-29). The best thing is that we can glorify the Lord when we honor our fathers, not only on Father’s Day but all through the year.

Early in the Bible, the Lord God gave us the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). Honoring our father and mother is the fifth commandment, and the first to address our horizontal relationships (The first four are vertical in the respect that they are about how we are to worship and honor God). This, the fifth commandment, speaks of the importance of family relationships. God is a relational Being; He has been in communion with the other members of the Trinity from eternity past and future (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit).

How can we honor our fathers on Father’s Day in a way that glorifies the Lord? Here are a few suggestions:

·        Gather as a family and pray for your father. A wonderful posture would be to encircle him as you pray. Have one child read Dad’s favorite verse aloud and pray through it, too.

·         Give him a special card for his day. Better yet, give him a handmade card, and don’t worry about your creative skills; it’s the heart and love behind it that matters.

·         Attend mass together as a family. Your family is a living picture of Christ’s kingdom on earth (Ephesians 4:15-16).

·         Enjoy fellowship with other families from our parish; they are our forever families.

·         Take time for a day away with your dad to enjoy each other’s company and so you can have time to tell him what he means to you.

·         Gifts are wonderful, yes, but not necessary.

·         For everyone’s amusement, you can have a “fun and games” day where those who are physically able can engage in silly races (sack races, egg tosses, and other outdoor games).

·         Have a BBQ where your father can sit back and enjoy watching his children and grandchildren play with each other. He might even like being a referee.

·         Make a special album filled with pictures of growing up with your father. Include some family stories you remember that inspired and/or changed you.

We all have varied histories with our fathers. Some children have been raised by strong Christian men. Others have a history with their fathers that speaks of negligence and abuse. Some don’t even know their father, while others have been raised by a man they think is good but holds does not find any purpose for the Church important.

No matter what your history, you can honor either your father or another father who has made an impact on your life. Pray for the father figure the Lord has placed in your life, and thank God He is our Father.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for all fathers: the men You have chosen to protect, guide, and love their children. Bless them with courage, wisdom, and perseverance so they may walk always in Your ways and delight in both the simple and significant moments of life. Strengthen them through Your Word and sacraments to live, practice, and proclaim their faith in a world in need of Your Gospel. Renew in them Your tender mercies so they may model the gentle compassion of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Fortify them with the love and care of family and friends, and entrust them to the protection of St. Joseph, the earthly father of our Lord. Amen